The traditional English name "Bohemia" derives from Latin "Boiohaemum", which means "home of the
Boii". The current name comes from the endonym
Čech, borrowed through Polish and spelled accordingly.[21][22]
The name comes from the Slavic tribe (Czechs, Czech:
Čechové) and, according to legend, their leader
Čech, who brought them to Bohemia, to settle on
Říp Mountain. The etymology of the word
Čech
can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic
root *čel-, meaning "member of the people; kinsman", thus making it
cognate
to the Czech word člověk
(a person).[23]

The country has been traditionally divided into three lands, namely
Bohemia
(Čechy) in the west,
Moravia
(Morava) in the southeast, and Czech Silesia
(Slezsko; the smaller, south-eastern part of
historical Silesia, most of which is located within modern Poland) in the northeast. Known as the
lands of the Bohemian Crown
since the 14th century, a number of other names for the country have been used, including Czech/Bohemian lands,
Bohemian Crown, and the
lands of the Crown of
Saint Wenceslas. When the country regained its independence after the dissolution of the
Austro-Hungarian empire
in 1918, the new name of Czechoslovakia
was coined to reflect the union of the Czech and Slovak nations within the one country.

Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the Czech part of the former nation found itself without a common single-word
geographical
name in English. The name Czechia/ˈtʃɛkiə/
was recommended by The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(minister Josef Zieleniec). In a memorandum to all Czech embassies and diplomatic missions in 1993, the full name "Czech Republic" was recommended for use only in official documents and titles of official institutions
[24]
(cit.). The geographical name still has not reached general recognition, but its usage is increasing. It can be found in dictionaries,[25]
maps, special literature,[26]
tourist road atlases,[27]
maps,[28]
encylopedies,[29]
media,[30]
and on the web. Czech president Miloš Zeman
uses the name Czechia
in his official speeches and promotes its wider use.[31]

Archaeologists have found evidence of prehistoric human settlements in the area, dating back to the
Paleolithic
era. The figurine Venus of Dolní Věstonice, together with a few others from nearby locations, found here is the oldest known
ceramic
article in the world.

In the
classical era, from the 3rd century BC
Celtic
migrations, the Boii
and later in the 1st century, Germanic tribes of Marcomanni
and Quadi
settled there. Their king Maroboduus
is the first documented ruler of Bohemia. During the Migration Period
around the 5th century, many Germanic tribes moved westwards and southwards out of Central Europe.

Slavic people
from the Black Sea–Carpathian
region settled in the area (a movement that was also stimulated by the onslaught of peoples from Siberia
and Eastern Europe: Huns,
Avars,
Bulgars
and Magyars). In the sixth century they moved westwards into Bohemia, Moravia and some of present-day Austria and Germany. During the 7th century, the Frankish merchant
Samo, supporting the Slavs fighting against nearby settled
Avars, became the ruler of the first known Slav state in Central Europe, the
Samo's Empire. The Moravian principality
Great Moravia
arose in the 8th century and reached its zenith in the 9th, when it held off the influence of the Franks and won the protection of the Pope.

The
Duchy of Bohemia
emerged in the late 9th century, when it was unified by the Přemyslid dynasty. In 10th century
Boleslaus I, Duke of Bohemia
conquered Moravia, Silesia and expanded farther to the east. The Kingdom of Bohemia
was, as the only kingdom in the Holy Roman Empire, a significant regional power during the
Middle Ages. It was part of the Empire from 1002 till 1806, with the exception of the years 1440–1526.[citation needed]
In 1212, King Přemysl Ottokar I
(bearing the title "king" since 1198) extracted the Golden Bull of Sicily
(a formal edict) from the emperor, confirming Ottokar and his descendants' royal status; the Duchy
of Bohemia was raised to a Kingdom. The bull declared that the King of Bohemia would be exempt from all future obligations to the Holy Roman Empire except for participation in imperial councils. German immigrants settled in the Bohemian periphery in the 13th century. Germans populated towns and mining districts and, in some cases, formed German colonies in the interior of Bohemia. In 1235, the
Mongols
launched an invasion of Europe. After the
Battle of Legnica
in Poland, the Mongols carried their raids into Moravia, but were defensively defeated at the fortified town of Olomouc.[32]
The Mongols subsequently invaded and defeated Hungary.[33]

By the end of the 14th century started the process of the so-called
Bohemian (Czech) Reformation. The religious and social reformer
Jan Hus
formed a reform movement later named after him. Although Hus was named a heretic and burnt in Constance
in 1415, his followers seceded from the Catholic Church and in the Hussite Wars
(1419–1434) defeated five crusades organized against them by the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund.
Petr Chelčický
continued with the Hussite Reformation movement. During the next two centuries, 90% of the inhabitants became adherents of the Hussite movement.

After 1526 Bohemia came increasingly under
Habsburg
control as the Habsburgs became first the elected and then in 1627 the hereditary rulers of Bohemia. The Austrian Habsburgs
of the 16th century, the founders of the central European Habsburg Monarchy, were buried in Prague. Between 1583–1611 Prague was the official seat of the Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II
and his court.

The
Defenestration of Prague
and subsequent revolt against the Habsburgs in 1618 marked the start of the Thirty Years' War, which quickly spread throughout Central Europe. In 1620, the rebellion in Bohemia was crushed at the
Battle of White Mountain, and the ties between Bohemia and the Habsburgs' hereditary lands in Austria were strengthened. The leaders of the
Bohemian Revolt
were executed in 1621. The nobility and the middle class Protestants had to either convert to Catholicism or leave the country.[38]

The following period, from 1620 to the late 18th century, has often been called colloquially the "Dark Age". The population of the
Czech lands
declined by a third through the expulsion of Czech Protestants as well as due to the war, disease and famine.[39]
The Habsburgs prohibited all Christian confessions other than Catholicism.[40]
The flowering of Baroque culture
shows the ambiguity of this historical period. Ottoman Turks
and Tatars
invaded Moravia in 1663.[41]
In 1679–1680 the Czech lands faced a devastating plague and an uprising of serfs.[42]

The end of the
Holy Roman Empire
in 1806 led to degradation of the political status of the Kingdom of Bohemia. Bohemia lost its position of an electorate
of the Holy Roman Empire as well as its own political representation in the Imperial Diet.[44]
Bohemian lands became part of the Austrian Empire
and later of Austria–Hungary. During the 18th and 19th century the
Czech National Revival
began its rise, with the purpose to revive Czech language, culture and national identity. The Revolution of 1848
in Prague, striving for liberal reforms and autonomy of the Bohemian Crown within the Austrian Empire, was suppressed. In 1866 Austria was defeated by Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War. The Austrian Empire needed to redefine itself to maintain unity in the face of nationalism. At first it seemed that some concessions would be made also to Bohemia, but in the end the Emperor
Franz Joseph I
effected a compromise with Hungary only. The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867
and the never realized coronation of Franz Joseph as King of Bohemia led to a huge disappointment of Czech politicians.[45]
The Bohemian Crown lands became part of the so-called Cisleithania
(officially "The Kingdoms and Lands represented in the Imperial Council"). The first elections under
universal male suffrage
were held in 1907. The last King of Bohemia was Blessed Charles of Austria
who ruled in 1916–1918.

Although Czechoslovakia was a
unitary state, it provided what were at the time rather extensive rights to its minorities and remained the only democracy in this part of Europe in the interwar period. The effects of the
Great Depression
including high unemployment and massive propaganda from Nazi Germany, however, resulted in discontent and strong support among ethnic Germans for a break from Czechoslovakia.

Adolf Hitler
took advantage of this opportunity and, using Konrad Henlein's separatist
Sudeten German Party, gained the largely German speaking
Sudetenland
(and its substantial Maginot Line-like
border fortifications) through the 1938
Munich Agreement
(signed by Nazi Germany, France, Britain and Italy). Czechoslovakia was not invited to the conference, therefore in fact betrayed by the United Kingdom and France, so Czechs and Slovaks call the Munich Agreement the
Munich Betrayal
because the Western powers decided to give up Czechoslovakia instead of facing Hitler, which later proved inevitable. All that despite the fact that Czechoslovakia had alliance agreement with France.

Despite the mobilization of 1.2 million-strong Czechoslovak army and the Franco-Czech military alliance, Poland annexed the
Zaolzie
area around Český Těšín; Hungary gained parts of Slovakia and the Subcarpathian Rus as a result of the
First Vienna Award
in November 1938. The remainders of Slovakia and the Subcarpathian Rus gained greater autonomy, with the state renamed to "Czecho-Slovakia". After Nazi Germany threatened to annex part of Slovakia, allowing the remaining regions to be partitioned by Hungary and Poland, Slovakia chose to maintain its national and territorial integrity, seceding from Czecho-Slovakia in March 1939, and allying itself, as demanded by Germany, with Hitler's coalition.[49]

The remaining Czech territory was occupied by Germany, which transformed it into the so-called
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The protectorate was proclaimed part of the Third Reich, and the president and prime minister were subordinated to the Nazi Germany's
Reichsprotektor. Subcarpathian Rus declared independence as the Republic of
Carpatho-Ukraine
on 15 March 1939 but was invaded by Hungary the same day and formally annexed the next day. Approximately 345,000 Czechoslovak citizens, including 277,000 Jews, were killed or executed while hundreds of thousands of others were sent to prisons and Nazi concentration camps
or used as forced labour. Up to two-thirds of the citizens were in groups targeted by the Nazis for deportation or death.[50]
One concentration camp was located within the Czech territory at Terezín, north of Prague.

There was
Czech resistance to Nazi occupation, both at home and abroad, most notably with the
assassination of Nazi German leaderReinhard Heydrich
by Czechoslovakian soldiers Jozef Gabčík
and Jan Kubiš
in a Prague suburb on 27 May 1942. On 9 June 1942 Hitler ordered bloody reprisals against the Czechs as a response to the Czech anti-Nazi resistance. The Czechoslovak government-in-exile
and its army fought against the Germans and were acknowledged by the Allies; Czech/Czechoslovak troops fought from the very beginning of the war in Poland, France, the UK, North Africa, the Middle East and the Soviet Union. The German occupation ended on 9 May 1945, with the arrival of the Soviet and American armies and the Prague uprising. An estimated 140,000 Soviet soldiers died in liberating Czechoslovakia from German rule.[51]

In 1945–1946, almost the entire German-speaking minority in Czechoslovakia, about 3 million people,
were expelled
to Germany and Austria. During this time, thousands of Germans were held in prisons and detention camps or used as forced labour. In the summer of 1945, there were several massacres. The only Germans not expelled were some 250,000 who had been active in the resistance against the Nazi Germans or were considered economically important, though many of these emigrated later. Following a Soviet-organised referendum, the Subcarpathian Rus never returned under Czechoslovak rule but became part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, as the
Zakarpattia Oblast
in 1946.

Czechoslovakia uneasily tried to play the role of a "bridge" between the West and East. However, the
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
rapidly increased in popularity, with a general disillusionment with the West, because of the pre-war Munich Agreement, and a favourable popular attitude towards the Soviet Union, because of the Soviets' role in liberating Czechoslovakia from German rule. In the
1946 elections, the Communists gained 38%[52]
of the votes and became the largest party in the Czechoslovak parliament. They formed a coalition government with other parties of the National Front
and moved quickly to consolidate power. A significant change came in 1948 with coup d'état by the Communist Party. The Communist
People's Militias
secured control of key locations in Prague, and a single party government was formed.

For the
next 41 years, Czechoslovakia was a Communist state within the
Eastern Bloc. This period is characterized by lagging behind the West in almost every aspect of social and economic development. The country's GDP per capita fell from the level of neighboring Austria below that of Greece or Portugal in the 1980s. The Communist government completely
nationalized
the means of production
and established a command economy. The economy grew rapidly during the 1950s but slowed down in the 1960s and 1970s and stagnated in the 1980s. The political climate was highly repressive during the 1950s, including numerous
show trials
and hundreds of thousands of political prisoners, but became more open and tolerant in the late 1960s, culminating in Alexander Dubček's leadership in the 1968
Prague Spring, which tried to create "socialism with a human face" and perhaps even introduce political
pluralism. This was forcibly ended by
invasion
by all Warsaw Pact
member countries with the exception of Romania
and Albania
on 21 August 1968.

The invasion was followed by a harsh program of "Normalization" in the late 1960s and the 1970s. Until 1989, the political establishment relied on censorship of the opposition. Dissidents published
Charter 77
in 1977, and the first of a new wave of protests were seen in 1988. Between 1948 and 1989 more than 250,000 Czechs and Slovaks were sent to prison, and over 400,000 emigrated.[53]

In November 1989, Czechoslovakia returned to a liberal democracy through the peaceful "Velvet Revolution". However, Slovak national aspirations strengthened and on 1 January 1993, the
country peacefully split
into the independent Czech Republic and Slovakia. Both countries went through economic reforms and
privatisations, with the intention of creating a
market economy. This process was largely successful; in 2006 the Czech Republic was recognised by the World Bank as a "developed country",[14]
and in 2009 the Human Development Index
ranked it as a nation of "Very High Human Development".[54]

From 1991, the Czech Republic, originally as part of Czechoslovakia and since 1993 in its own right, has been a member of the
Visegrád Group
and from 1995, the OECD. The Czech Republic joined
NATO
on 12 March 1999 and the European Union
on 1 May 2004. On 21 December 2007 the Czech Republic joined the Schengen Area.

The president is a formal
head of state
with limited and specific powers, most importantly to return bills to the parliament, appoint members to the board of the Czech National Bank, nominate constitutional court
judges for the Senate's approval and dissolve the Chamber of Deputies under certain special and unusual circumstances. He also appoints the prime minister, as well the other members of the cabinet on a proposal by the prime minister. From 1993 until 2012, the President of the Czech Republic
was selected by a joint session of the parliament for a five-year term, with no more than two consecutive terms. Since 2013 the presidential election is direct. [56]Miloš Zeman
was the first directly elected
Czech President.

The members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected for a four-year term by
proportional representation, with a 5%
election threshold. There are 14 voting districts, identical to the country's administrative regions. The Chamber of Deputies, the successor to the
Czech National Council, has the powers and responsibilities of the now defunct federal parliament of the former Czechoslovakia.

The political system of the Czech Republic

The members of the Senate are elected in single-seat
constituencies
by two-round runoff voting
for a six-year term, with one-third elected every even year in the autumn. The first election was in 1996, for differing terms. This arrangement is modeled on the U.S. Senate, but each constituency is roughly the same size and the voting system used is a two-round runoff. The Senate is unpopular among the public and suffers from low election turnout.[citation needed]

Czech Republic has a
civil law system
based on Germanic law. Czech judiciary has
triumvirate
system of the main courts, the Constitutional Court
which oversees violations of the Constitution
by either the legislature or by the government
consisting of 15 constitutional judges, the Supreme Court
is the court of highest appeal for almost all legal cases
heard in the Czech Republic formed of 67 judges and the Supreme Administrative Court
decides on issues of procedural and administrative propriety. It also has jurisdiction over many political matters, such as the formation and closure of political parties, jurisdictional boundaries between government entities, and the eligibility of persons to stand for public office.

The Czech armed forces consist of the
Army,
Air Force
and of specialized support units. The armed forces are managed by the Ministry of Defence. The
President of the Czech Republic
is Commander-in-chief
of the armed forces. In 2004 the army transformed itself into a fully professional organization and compulsory military service was abolished. The country has been a member of NATO
since 12 March 1999. Defense spending is approximately 1.04% of the GDP (2015).[65]
The armed forces are charged with protecting the Czech Republic and its allies, promoting global security interests, and contributing to NATO.

Since 2000, the Czech Republic has been divided into
thirteen regions
(Czech:
kraje, singular
kraj) and the capital city of
Prague. Every region has its own elected regional assembly (krajské zastupitelstvo) and
hejtman
(a regional governor). In Prague, the assembly and presidential powers are executed by the city council and the mayor.

The older seventy-six
districts
(okresy, singular
okres) including three "statutory cities" (without Prague, which had special status) lost most of their importance in 1999 in an administrative reform; they remain as territorial divisions and seats of various branches of state administration.[67]

Map of the Czech Republic with traditional regions and current administrative regions

The Czech Republic lies mostly between latitudes
48°
and 51° N
(a small area lies north of 51°), and longitudes 12°
and 19° E.

The Czech landscape is exceedingly varied.
Bohemia, to the west, consists of a basin drained by the
Elbe
(Czech:
Labe) and the
Vltava
rivers, surrounded by mostly low mountains, such as the Krkonoše
range of the Sudetes. The highest point in the country,
Sněžka
at 1,602 m (5,256 ft), is located here. Moravia, the eastern part of the country, is also quite hilly. It is drained mainly by the Morava River, but it also contains the source of the
Oder River
(Czech:
Odra).

Water from the landlocked Czech Republic flows to three different seas: the
North Sea,
Baltic Sea
and Black Sea. The Czech Republic also leases the
Moldauhafen, a 30,000-square-metre (7.4-acre)
lot
in the middle of the Hamburg
Docks, which was awarded to Czechoslovakia by Article 363 of the Treaty of Versailles, to allow the landlocked country a place where goods transported down river could be transferred to seagoing ships. The territory reverts to Germany in 2028.

The three historical lands of the Czech Republic (formerly the core countries of the Bohemian Crown) correspond almost prefectly with the river basins of the
Elbe
(Czech:
Labe) and the
Vltava
basin for Bohemia, the Morava one for Moravia, and the Oder river basin for Czech Silesia (in terms of the Czech territory).

The Czech Republic has a temperate
continental climate, with warm summers and cold, cloudy and snowy winters. The temperature difference between summer and winter is relatively high, due to the landlocked geographical position.[69]

Within the Czech Republic, temperatures vary greatly, depending on the elevation. In general, at higher altitudes, the temperatures decrease and
precipitation
increases. The wettest area in the Czech Republic is found around Bílý Potok
in Jizera Mountains
and the driest region is the Louny District
to the northwest of Prague. Another important factor is the distribution of the mountains; therefore, the climate is quite varied.

At the highest peak of
Sněžka
(1,602 m or 5,256 ft), the average temperature is only −0.4 °C (31 °F), whereas in the lowlands of the South Moravian Region, the average temperature is as high as 10 °C (50 °F). The country's capital,
Prague, has a similar average temperature, although this is influenced by urban factors.

The coldest month is usually January, followed by February and December. During these months, there is usually snow in the mountains and sometimes in the major cities and lowlands. During March, April and May, the temperature usually increases rapidly, especially during April, when the temperature and weather tends to vary widely during the day. Spring is also characterized by high water levels in the rivers, due to melting snow with occasional flooding.

The warmest month of the year is July, followed by August and June. On average, summer temperatures are about 20 °C (68 °F) – 30 °C (86 °F) higher than during winter. Summer is also characterized by rain and storms.

Autumn generally begins in September, which is still relatively warm and dry. During October, temperatures usually fall below 15 °C (59 °F) or 10 °C (50 °F) and
deciduous trees
begin to shed their leaves. By the end of November, temperatures usually range around the freezing point.

The coldest temperature ever measured was in Litvínovice near
České Budějovice
in 1929, at −42.2 °C (−44.0 °F) and the hottest measured, was at 40.4 °C (104.7 °F) in Dobřichovice
in 2012.[70]

Most rain falls during the summer. Sporadic rainfall is relatively constant throughout the year (in Prague, the average number of days per month experiencing at least 0.1 mm of rain varies from 12 in September and October to 16 in November) but concentrated heavy rainfall (days with more than 10 mm per day) are more frequent in the months of May to August (average around two such days per month).[71]

The Czech Republic is part of the EU single market and the Schengen Area.

Škoda Auto
is one of the largest car manufacturers in Central Europe. In 2014, it sold a record number of 1,037,000 cars and said it aimed to double sales by 2018. (image of Škoda Superb)

The Czech Republic possesses a developed,[73]high-income[74]
economy with a per capita GDP rate that is 87% of the European Union average.[75]
The most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states, the Czech Republic saw growth of over 6% annually in the three years before the outbreak of the recent global economic crisis. Growth has been led by exports to the European Union, especially Germany, and foreign investment, while domestic demand is reviving.

Most of the economy has been privatised, including the banks and telecommunications. A 2009 survey in cooperation with the Czech Economic Association found that the majority of Czech economists favour continued liberalization in most sectors of the economy.[76]

The country has been a member of the
Schengen Area
since 1 May 2004, having abolished border controls, completely opening its borders with all of its neighbours (Germany,
Austria,
Poland
and Slovakia) on 21 December 2007.[77]
The Czech Republic became a member of the World Trade Organisation
on 1 January 1995. In 2012, Nearly 80% of Czech exports went to, and more than 65% of Czech imports came from, other European Union member states.[78]

Czech Republic would become the 49th largest economy in the world by 2050 with a
GDP
of US$ $342 billion.[79]

Monetary policy
is conducted by the Czech National Bank, whose independence is guaranteed by the Constitution.[80]
The official currency is the Czech crown, and it had been
floating
until 7. 11. 2013, when the central bank
temporarily pegged the exchange rate at 27 crowns per euro in order to fight deflation.[81]
When it joined EU, the Czech Republic obligated itself to adopt the euro, but the date of adoption has not been determined.

Leading Czech transportation companies include
Škoda Auto
(automobiles), Škoda Transportation
(tramways, trolleybuses, metro), Tatra
(the third oldest car maker in the world), Karosa
(buses), Aero Vodochody
(airplanes) and Jawa Motors
(motorcycles). http://www.worlddiplomacy.org
states that "Elections in 2013 brought a new government for the Czech republic. Although starting off 2013 rather weakly, the economy rebounded strongly in the coming quarters and most recently (Q1,2015) the economy has enjoyed the fastest GDP increase in the entire EU, clocking at 2.8% compared with Q4,2014, or 3.9% year-on-year."[83]

Production of Czech electricity exceeds consumption by about 10 TWh per year, which are exported.
Nuclear power
presently provides about 30 percent of the total power needs, its share is projected to increase to 40 percent. In 2005, 65.4 percent of electricity was produced by steam and combustion power plants (mostly coal); 30 percent by nuclear plants; and 4.6 percent from renewable sources, including hydropower. The largest Czech power resource is
Temelín Nuclear Power Station, another
nuclear power plant
is in Dukovany.

The Czech Republic is reducing its dependence on highly polluting low-grade
brown coal
as a source of energy. Natural gas is procured from Russian Gazprom, roughly three-fourths of domestic consumption and from
Norwegian
companies, which make up most of the remaining one-fourth. Russian gas is imported via Ukraine (Druzhba pipeline), Norwegian gas is transported through Germany. Gas consumption (approx. 100 TWh in 2003–2005) is almost double electricity consumption. South Moravia has small
oil and gas deposits.

České dráhy
(the Czech Railways) is the main railway operator in the Czech Republic, with about 180 million passengers carried yearly. Its cargo division, ČD Cargo, is the fifth largest railway cargo operator in the European Union.[citation needed]
With 9,505 km (5,906.13 mi) of tracks, the Czech Republic has one of the densest railway networks in Europe.[86]
Of that number, 2,926 km (1,818.13 mi) is electrified, 7,617 km (4,732.98 mi) are single-line tracks and 1,866 km (1,159.48 mi) are double and multiple-line tracks.[87]
In 2006 the new Italian tilting trainsPendolinoČD Class 680
entered service. They have reached a speed of 237 km/h setting a new Czech railway speed record.

Russia, via pipelines through Ukraine and to a lesser extent, Norway, via pipelines through Germany, supply the Czech Republic with liquid and natural gas.

The road network in the Czech Republic is 55,653 km (34,581.17 mi) long.[88]
There are 775,8 km of motorways and 439,1 km of expressways.[citation needed]
The speed limit
is 50 km/h within towns, 90 km/h outside of towns and 130 km/h on expressways.[citation needed]

This article's
factual accuracy
may be compromised due to out-of-date information.
Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2012)

The Czech Republic ranks in the top 10 countries worldwide with the fastest average internet speed.[89]
The Czech Republic has the most Wi-Fi
subscribers in the European Union.[90][91]
By the beginning of 2008, there were over 800 mostly local WISPs,[92][93]
with about 350,000 subscribers in 2007. Plans based on either GPRS,
EDGE,
UMTS
or CDMA2000
are being offered by all three mobile phone operators (T-Mobile,
Telefónica O2,
Vodafone) and internet provider
U:fon. Government-owned
Český Telecom
slowed down broadband penetration. At the beginning of 2004, local-loop unbundling
began and alternative operators started to offer ADSL
and also SDSL. This and later privatisation of Český Telecom helped drive down prices.

On 1 July 2006, Český Telecom was acquired by globalized company (Spain owned) Telefónica group and adopted new name
Telefónica O2 Czech Republic. As of June 2014, VDSL and ADSL2+ are offered in many variants, with download speeds of up to 40 Mbit/s and upload speeds of up to 2Mbit/s. Cable internet is gaining popularity with its higher download speeds ranging from 2 Mbit/s to 1 Gbit/s.

The Czech lands have a long and rich scientific tradition. The research based on cooperation between
universities,
Academy of Sciences
and specialised research centers brings new inventions and impulses in this area. Important inventions include the modern contact lens, the separation of modern
blood types, and the production of
Semtexplastic explosive. In March 1978, Czechoslovakian
Vladimír Remek
was the first person outside of the Soviet Union and the United States to go into space.

Prominent scientists who lived and worked in historically Czech lands include:

The Czech economy gets a substantial income from tourism.
Prague
is the fifth most visited city in Europe after London, Paris, Istanbul and Rome.[101]
In 2001, the total earnings from tourism reached 118 billion CZK, making up 5.5% of
GNP
and 9% of overall export earnings. The industry employs more than 110,000 people – over 1% of the population.[102]
The country's reputation has suffered with guidebooks and tourists reporting overcharging by taxi drivers and pickpocketing problems mainly in Prague.[103][104]
Since 2005, Prague's mayor, Pavel Bém, has worked to improve this reputation by cracking down on petty crime[104]
and, aside from these problems, Prague is a safe city.[105]
Also, the Czech Republic as a whole generally has a low crime rate.[106]
For tourists, the Czech Republic is considered a safe destination to visit. The low crime rate makes most cities and towns very safe to walk around.

According to preliminary results of the 2011 census, the majority of the inhabitants of the Czech Republic are
Czechs
(63.7%), followed by Moravians
(4.9%), Slovaks
(1.4%), Poles
(0.4%), Germans
(0.2%) and Silesians
(0.1%). As the 'nationality' was an optional item, a substantial number of people left this field blank (26.0%).[111]
According to some estimates, there are about 250,000 Romani people
in the Czech Republic.[112][113]

There were 437,581 foreigners residing in the country in September 2013, according to the
Czech Statistical Office,[114]
with the largest groups being Ukrainian (106,714), Slovak (89,273), Vietnamese (61,102), Russian (32,828), Polish (19,378), German (18,099), Bulgarian (8,837), American (6,695), Romanian (6,425), Moldovan (5,860), Chinese (5,427), British (5,413), Mongolian (5,308), Kazakh (4,850), Belarusian (4,562).[114]

The
Jewish
population of Bohemia and Moravia, 118,000 according to the 1930 census, was virtually annihilated by the Nazi Germans during the Holocaust.[115]
There were approximately 4,000 Jews in the Czech Republic in 2005.[116]
The former Czech prime minister, Jan Fischer, is of Jewish origin and faith.[117]

The
total fertility rate
(TFR) in 2013 was estimated at 1.29 children born/woman, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1, and one of the lowest in the world.[118]
In 2014, 46.7% of births were to unmarried women.[119]
The life expectancy in 2013 was estimated at 77.56 years (74.29 years male, 81.01 years female).[118]
Immigration increased the population by almost 1% in 2007. About 77,000 people immigrate to the Czech Republic annually.[120]Vietnamese
immigrants began settling in the Czech Republic during the Communist period, when they were invited as guest workers
by the Czechoslovak government.[121]
In 2009, there were about 70,000 Vietnamese in the Czech Republic.[122]
Most decide to stay in the country permanently.[123]

At the turn of the 20th century, Chicago was the city with the third largest Czech population,[124]
after Prague
and Vienna.[125]
According to the 2010 US census, there are 1,533,826 Americans of full or partial Czech
descent.[126]

The Czech Republic has one of the least religious populations in the world, being the country with the third most atheistic population by percentage, behind only China and Japan.[128]
Historically, the Czech people have been characterised as "tolerant and even indifferent towards religion".[129]
According to the 2011 census, 34% of the population stated they had no religion, 10.3% was Roman Catholic, 0.8% was Protestant
(0.5% Czech Brethren
and 0.4% Hussite), and 9% followed other forms of religion both denominational or not (of which 863 people answered they are
Pagan). 45% of the population did not answer the question about religion.[127]
From 1991 to 2001 and further to 2011 the adherence to Roman Catholicism decreased from 39% to 27% and then to 10%; Protestantism similarly declined from 3.7% to 2% and then to 0.8%.[130]

According to a
Eurobarometer Poll
in 2010,[131]
16% of Czech citizens responded that "they believe there is a God" (the lowest rate among the countries of the European Union),[132]
whereas 44% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 37% said that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".

According to new polls about Religiosity in the
European Union
in 2012 by Eurobarometer
found that Non believer/Agnostic
is the largest religion in Czech Republic accounting 39% of Czech citizens.[133]
Christianity account 34% of Czech citizens, Catholics
are the largest Christian group in Czech Republic, accounting for 29% of Czech citizens,[133]
while Protestants
make up 2%, and Other Christian make up 3%. Atheist
accounts for 20%, Undeclared accounts for 6%.[133]

Education in the Czech Republic is compulsory for 9 years, but the average number of years of education is 13.1.[134]
Additionally, the Czech Republic has a relatively equal educational system in comparison with other countries in Europe.[134]

The Czech Republic is known worldwide for its individually made, mouth blown and decorated art glass and crystal. One of the best Czech painters and decorative artists was
Alphonse Mucha
(1860–1939) mainly known for art nouveau
posters and his cycle of 20 large canvases named the Slav Epic, which depicts the history of Czechs and other
Slavs. As of 2012,
the Slav Epic
can be seen in Veletržní Palace of National Gallery in Prague, which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic.

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The earliest preserved stone buildings in Bohemia and Moravia date back to the time of the
Christianization
in the 9th and 10th century. Since the Middle Ages the Czech lands have been using the same architectural styles like most of Western
and Central Europe. The oldest still standing churches were built in the
Romanesque style. During the 13th century it was replaced by the
Gothic style. In the 14th century Emperor Charles IV invited to his court in Prague talented architects from France and Germany,
Matthias of Arras
and Peter Parler. During the Middle Ages, many fortified castles were built by the king and aristocracy, as well as many monasteries. During the
Hussite wars, many of them were damaged or destroyed.

Royal Summer Palace in Prague considered the purest Renaissance architecture outside Italy[135]

The
Renaissance style
penetrated the Bohemian Crown in the late 15th century when the older Gothic style started to be slowly mixed with Renaissance elements (architects Matěj Rejsek,
Benedikt Rejt). An outstanding example of the pure Renaissance architecture in Bohemia is the
Royal Summer Palace, which was situated in a newly established garden of
Prague Castle. Evidence of the general reception of the Renaissance in Bohemia, involving a massive influx of Italian architects, can be found in spacious chateaux with elegant arcade courtyards and geometrically arranged gardens.[136]
Emphasis was placed on comfort, and buildings that were built for entertainment purposes also appeared.[137]

In the 18th century Bohemia produced an architectural peculiarity – the
Baroque Gothic style, a synthesis of the Gothic and Baroque styles. This was not a simple return to Gothic details, but rather an original Baroque transformation. The main representative and originator of this style was
Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel, who used this style in renovating medieval monastic buildings.[136]

Bohemia contributed an unusual style to the world's architectural heritage when Czech architects attempted to transpose the
Cubism
of painting and sculpture into architecture. During the first years of the independent Czechoslovakia (after 1918), a specifically Czech architectural style, called ‘Rondo-Cubism’, came into existence. Together with the pre-war
Czech Cubist architecture
it is unparalleled elsewhere in the world. The first Czechoslovak president T. G. Masaryk
invited the prominent Slovene
architect Jože Plečnik
to Prague, where he modernized the Castle
and built some other buildings. Between World Wars I and II, Functionalism, with its sober, progressive forms, took over as the main architectural style in the newly established Czechoslovak Republic. In the city of Brno, one of the most impressive functionalist works has been preserved –
Villa Tugendhat, designed by the architect
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.[136]
The most significant Czech architects of this era were Adolf Loos,
Pavel Janák
and Josef Gočár.

After the World War II and the Communist coup in 1948 the art in Czechoslovakia came under the strong Soviet influence.
Hotel International
in Prague is a brilliant example of the so-called Socialist realism, the Stalinistic art style of the 1950s. Czechoslovak avant-garde artistic movement known as the
Brussels style
(called after the Brussels World's Fair Expo 58) became popular in the time of political liberalization of Czechoslovakia in the 1960s.

The
Bible translations
played an important role in the development of Czech literature and standard Czech language. The oldest Czech translation of the Psalms
originated in the late 13th century and the first Czech translation of the whole Bible was finished around 1360. The first complete printed Czech Bible was published in 1488 (Prague Bible). The first complete Czech Bible translation from original languages was published between 1579–93 and is known as the
Bible of Kralice.

Czech literature and culture played a major role on at least two occasions, when Czechs lived under oppression and political activity was suppressed. On both of these occasions, in the early 19th century and then again in the 1960s, the Czechs used their cultural and literary effort to strive for political freedom, establishing a confident, politically aware nation.[citation needed]

The musical tradition of Czech lands arose from first church hymns, whose first evidence is suggested at the break of 10th and 11th century. The first significant pieces of Czech music include two chorales, which in their time performed the function of anthems: "Hospodine pomiluj ny" (Lord, Have Mercy on Us) from around 1050, unmistakably the oldest and most faithfully preserved popular spiritual song to have survived to the present, and the
hymn
"Svatý Václave" (Saint Wenceslas) or "Saint Wenceslas Chorale" from around 1250.[141]
Its roots can be found in the 12th century and it still belongs to the most popular religious songs to this day. In 1918, in the beginning of the Czechoslovak
state, the song was discussed as one of the possible choices for the national anthem. The authorship of the anthem "Lord, Have Mercy on Us" is ascribed by some historians to Saint Adalbert of Prague
(sv.Vojtěch), bishop of Prague, living between 956 and 997.[142]

Smetana Hall in Prague, one of the main venues in the annual Prague Spring Festival

Czech music can be considered to have been beneficial in both the European and worldwide context, several times co-determined or even determined a newly arriving era in musical art,[143]
above all of Classical
era, as well as by original attitudes in Baroque,
Romantic
and modern classical
music.

The roots of Czech theatre can be found in the Middle Ages, especially in cultural life of
gothic period. In the 19th century, the theatre played an important role in the national awakening movement and later, in the 20th century it became a part of the modern European theatre art. Original Czech cultural phenomenon came into being at the end of the 1950s. This project called
Laterna magika
(The Magic Lantern) was the brainchild of renowned film and theater director Alfred Radok, resulting in productions that combined theater, dance and film in a poetic manner, considered the first
multimedia art
project in international context

The tradition of Czech cinematography started in the second half of 1890s. Peaks of the production in the era of silent movies represent historical
drama
"The Builder of the Temple", social and erotic (very controversial and innovative at that time ) drama "Erotikon" directed by Gustav Machatý.[144]
Early sound film era of Czech film was very productive, above all in mainstream genres with special role of comedies by Martin Frič
or Karel Lamač, however more internationally successful were drammatic movies, above all famous
romantic drama
film "Ecstasy" by Gustav Machatý, and romantic "The River" by
Josef Rovenský.

American poster of Karel Zeman's 1958 film A Deadly Invention

After the repressive period of Nazi occupation of the country and early communist official dramaturgy of socialist realism in movies at the turn of 1940s and 1950s with a few exceptions such a "Krakatit" by
Otakar Vávra
or "Men without wings" by František Čáp
(awarded by Palme d'Or
of the Cannes Film Festival
in 1946), new era of the Czech film begun by outstanding animated films by important filmmakers such as Karel Zeman, a pioneer with special effects (culminating in successful films such as artistically exceptional "Vynález zkázy" (A Deadly Invention), performed in anglophone countries under the name "The Fabulous World of Jules Verne" from 1958, which combined acted drama with animation, and
Jiří Trnka, the founder of the modern puppet film.[145]
Another Czech cultural phenomenon came into being at the end of the 1950s. This project called Laterna magika
(The Magic Lantern), resulting in productions that combined theater, dance and film in a poetic manner, considered the first multimedia art
project in international context (mentioned also in "Theatre section" above).

In 1960s, so called Czech New Wave (also
Czechoslovak New Wave) received international acclaim. It is linked with names of
Miloš Forman,
Věra Chytilová,
Jiří Menzel,
Ján Kadár,
Elmar Klos,
Evald Schorm,
Vojtěch Jasný,
Ivan Passer,
Jan Schmidt,
Juraj Herz, Jaroslav Papoušek, etc. The hallmark of the films of this movement were long, often improvised
dialogues,
black
and absurdhumor
and the occupation of non-actors. Directors are trying to preserve natural atmosphere wthout refinement and artificial arrangement of scenes. The unique personality of 1960s and the beginning of 1970s with original manuscript, deep psychological impact and extraordinarily high quality art is the director František Vláčil. His films
Marketa Lazarová,
Údolí včel
("The Valley of The Bees") or Adelheid
belong to the srtistic peaks of Czech cinema production. The film "Marketa Lazarová" was voted the all-time best Czech movie in a prestigious 1998 poll of Czech film critics and publicists. Another internationally well-known author is Jan Švankmajer
(in the beginning of the career conjoined with above mentioned project "Laterna Magika"), a filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled surrealist
known for his animations
and features, which have greatly influenced many artists worldwide.[146]

The
Barrandov Studios
in Prague are the largest film studios in country and one of the largest in Europe with many many popular film locations in the country.[147]
Filmmakers have come to Prague
to shoot scenery no longer found in Berlin, Paris and Vienna. The city of Karlovy Vary
was used as a location for the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale.[148]

Since the Czech Republic is a democratic republic, journalists and media should be free to write about everything, except supporting
nazism,
racism
and violating the Czech law. The country was ranked as the 13th most free press in the World Freedom Index by
Reporters Without Borders
in 2014.[149]

Czech cuisine is marked by a strong emphasis on meat dishes. Pork is quite common; beef and chicken are also popular. Goose, duck, rabbit and wild game are served. Fish is rare, with the occasional exception of fresh
trout
and carp, which is served at Christmas.

Czech beer
has a long and important history. The first brewery is known to have existed in 993 and the Czech Republic has the highest beer consumption per capita
in the world. The famous "pilsner stylebeer" (pils) originated in the western Bohemian city of
Plzeň, where the world's first-ever blond lager
Pilsner Urquell
is still being produced, making it the inspiration for more than two-thirds of the beer produced in the world today. Further south the town of České Budějovice, known as Budweis in German, lent its name to its beer, eventually known as
Budweiser Budvar. Apart from these and other major brands, the Czech Republic also boasts a growing number of top quality small breweries and mini-breweries seeking to continue the age-old tradition of quality and taste, whose output matches the best in the world.

There is also a large variety of local sausages, wurst, pâtés, and smoked and cured meats. Czech desserts include a wide variety of whipped cream, chocolate, and fruit pastries and tarts, crepes, creme desserts and cheese, poppy seed filled and other types of traditional cakes such as
buchty,
koláče
and štrůdl.

The Czechoslovakia national football team was a consistent performer on the international scene, with eight appearances in the FIFA World Cup Finals, finishing in second place in 1934 and 1962. The team also won the European Football Championship in 1976, came in third in 1980 and won the Olympic gold in 1980. After dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the Czech national football team finished in second (1996) and thrird (2004) place at the European Football Championship.

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^Citizens belonging to minorities, which traditionally and on a long-term basis live within the territory of the Czech Republic, enjoy the right to use their language in communication with authorities and in courts of law (for the list of recognized minorities see
National Minorities Policy of the Government of the Czech Republic, Belorussian and Vietnamese since 4 July 2013, see
Česko má nové oficiální národnostní menšiny. Vietnamce a Bělorusy). Article 25 of the Czech
Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms
ensures the right of the national and ethnic minorities to education and communication with the authorities in their own language. Act No. 500/2004 Coll. (The Administrative Rule) in its paragraph 16 (4) (Procedural Language) ensures that a citizen of the Czech Republic who belongs to a national or an ethnic minority, which traditionally and on a long-term basis lives within the territory of the Czech Republic, has the right to address an administrative agency and proceed before it in the language of the minority. If the administrative agency has no employee with knowledge of the language, the agency is bound to obtain a translator at the agency's own expense. According to Act No. 273/2001 (Concerning the Rights of Members of Minorities) paragraph 9 (The right to use language of a national minority in dealing with authorities and in front of the courts of law) the same also applies to members of national minorities in the courts of law.